August 23 2022

Selhurst Park

It has now been 10 seasons in a row where Palace have remained in the Premier League, and it's fair to say the team is now a household name, writes Peter Barker.

The Eagles are proving time and again that we aren't a team to be trifled with. However, we're all well aware that things could be much better, yet they could also be a lot worse.

While Palace are sitting relatively consistently around the middle of the table, it's important for Patrick Vieira and his side to make some bold choices during the summer transfer window while maintaining the current integrity of the current team.

So what are our targets for this summer transfer window? Which areas of the pitch need more depth and quality, and what do we need to do to finish our 11th year staying in the Premier League?

Where We Were At The Start Of Last Season

Going back to 2021, we can't forget the trepidation and frustration that many of us felt heading into the season. Switching manager, losing a handful of senior players including Gary Cahill, Andros Townsend, and Wayne Hennessey, and ultimately ending up as the bookies' favourites to be relegated, it's fair to say we took things in our stride.

As well as losing these senior players, we also signed a selection of youngsters who have great potential to take us to further heights in the future. For example, Michael Olise, who joined last summer, displayed some exceptional technical skills and looked set to improve significantly in the years to come.

As well as Olise, we have Marc Guehi, who continues to provide us with some exceptional defensive work at times. We also signed a handful of other players, but we will discuss those a little bit later on.

How Things Ended Last Season

With things being shaken up so substantially, you'd expect things to have gone much worse than they did.

Of course, we experienced some serious disappointments with some of our new signings, with players like the former Celtic striker, Odsonne Edouard, being labelled as our biggest let-down of the season by the Evening Standard.

However, even with some problems like this, it's fair to say that even with the monumental task of creating a brand-new era for Palace heaved onto poor old Vieira's back, we did surprisingly well, all things considered.

Roy Hodgson had understandably displayed a tried and tested form of management, but at the end of the day, progress is essential in every aspect of life, especially football.

Sticking to your guns and trying to manage a team the way you've done for your whole career is naturally going to become stale very fast, and that is why Vieira was brought in. We had to move away from the past and attempt something fresh, and we definitely saw some positive results from this.

What Is Our Potential Looking Like For The Season?

Nobody wants to jinx things, but it's fair to say that a lot of us are actually quite optimistic. We've had a number of hiccups along the way, but it's generally agreed that the former Arsenal captain Vieira has done wonders at the beginning of his career as the Palace manager.

After two previous seasons in a pretty miserable slump with fans getting relatively bored with Hodgson's managerial style, Vieira managed to shake things up and boost us up a couple of positions by the end of his first season.

While it wasn't anything dramatic in terms of points difference compared to previous years, it shows that we can make big changes without losing pace. It's our prediction that if we make some smart transfers and continue to develop our dedicated younger players, we can start to become a force to be reckoned with.

It might even be worthwhile to place some positive bets via OnlineCasinos and betting sites. After all, look back at 2016 with some lucky people taking a punt on Leicester to win the league. We're just saying!

Which Positions Need Strengthening?

We're under no illusions that Vieira is going to be making even more changes at the start of this season. After all, it had some relatively positive effects last term, and he's obviously got a vision for the future of the club.

It's well regarded that to make no changes doesn't maintain your momentum; it actually slows you down, potentially sending you backwards instead. But which positions will he be strengthening?

It's known that Vieira is looking at adding a new right-back to the team to assist the likes of Joel Ward and Nathaniel Clyne, adding more depth to the team's defence. Whoever he does sign, all we can do is hope that they truly are further improvements to our current line-up, providing us with more flexibility and depth across the board.

What Transfer Rumours Are Floating About?

At the end of the day, transfer rumours are just that: rumours. There's not much point in latching onto anything because even if those rumours are true, there are still no guarantees that a transfer will be completed.

Of course, while we say that, does it really stop any of us from speculating? So let's be hypocrites for a short while and throw a few names out there that have been discussed in the media so far.

We know that Conor Gallagher is back at Chelsea after his loan comes to an end with us, and so Vieira will be looking to replace him in midfield.

It's also worth thinking about the fact that we may be losing our senior attacker Wilfried Zaha, with Chelsea's Tuchel sniffing around. These rumours change day by day, however, so take everything with a pinch of salt until pen touches paper.